Wet-machine



H. A. CONSTANTINE'. WET MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31,1lQ.

1,380,637. I Patented June 7, 1921.

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, pulp is slit lengthwise of the roll conducted is continuously vAs thelength of time HENRY A. CONSTANTINE, OF NIAGARA FALLS, YORK.

WET-MACHINE.

ea set.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 7. reel.

7 Application filed January 31, 1919. Serial 1\To..274,332.

To all whom it may concern 7 Be it known that I, HENRY A. CONSTAN- TINE,a citizen of the 'United States of America, residing at Niagara Falls,in the county of'Niagara and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Tmprovements in VVet Machines, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates generally to wet machines, and more particularly toautomatic means for removing the sheets of pulp from I said machinesand-laying the said sheets in a pile.

It is well known to those skilled in the art, that in machines of thistype the pulp is conducted to the pressure rolls of the machine by meansof an endless sheet or belt of fabric, preferably felt; and the pulp sodeposited upon one of the pressure rolls until the sheet of pulp on thisroll has reached a predetermined thickness. Atthis time the sheet of andthereby removed from the machine. This slitting operation is usuallyperformed by an operator who uses a stick or a knife to slit thesheet ofpulp. After the sheet has been discharged from the machine the operatorusually folds the sheet and places the same in piles.

required for the slitting and folding operation is but a smallfractional part of the time it takes for the sheet of pulp to reach itspredetermined thickness, itwill be seen that a good deal of time is lostby this manual method of performing'these operations, as it is necessaryfor the operator to remain at themachine and wait until the sheet ofpulp is ready to be slit.

The principal object of my invention has been to provide a device whichwill automatically slit the sheet of pulp when it has reached thepredetermined thickness, and

while the machne IS in operation.

Another object has been vice for slitting the sheet of pulp which shallperform the operation as nearly like that performed by hand as ismechanically possible.

Another general object has to provide a de-,

been to provide means for grasping one edge of the sure rolls of the issuitably journaled within the housing 12 suitable means, and about andallowing it to fall and to be deposited in a pile.

Another object has been to provide a device of this nature which maybeeasily attached to existing machines.

Furthermore, my operation and of such a design that it will not easilyget out of order.

The above objects and advantages, as well as others which will beapparent to those skilled in the art, have been accomplished by thedevice shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisapplication. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my device with portions thereof brokenaway.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my device.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, plan view of the cutter of my device and itsassociated parts.

Fig. .41 is a fragmentary, front view, slightly enlarged, of means.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional plan view of the cutteroperating means, taken on line 55 of Fig. 1.

device is simple in its the cutter operatmg Fig. 6 is an enlargedfragmentary seetional view of the same means, taken on line 6-6 ofFig. 1. v

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of the pulp carrierand gripping device.

In' the Figs. 1 and 2, 10 and ll-represent the preswet machine, each ofwhich The lower pressure r011 11 manner by any this roll passes theendless band or belt of fabric 13. The upper pressure roll 10, whichispressed in contact with the lower roll in the usual and well knownmanner, is mounted in suitable bearings carried by the housing 12 and isdriven by means-oits contact with the lower roll '11 and the fabric 13.The roll 10 takes from the belt 13 the pulp which has been depositedthereon and accumulates this pulp until, by successive layers, it hasreached the predetermined thickness, when it is ready to be slit andremoved from the roll.

Aguide or -track'14.- is arranged in front of the pressure roll10 and iscarried by brackets 15 which are secured to the rods 16 of the machineat each side thereof. This track is preferably square-shaped, or

of the machine. is driven in the customary drawings, with specialreference to other polygonal cross section, and mounted to slide thereonis a cutter carriage 17. A cutter arm 18 is pivotally connected at 19 tothe carriage 17 and the cutter 20 is detachably secured to the inner endof this arm. This cutter is provided with a sharpened point 21 which isarranged to move in contact with the surface of the pressure roll 10when it is moved across this roll by the carriage 17 to slit the sheetof pulp. The point 21 is so designed that it will not gouge into thematerial of the roll 10, but will smoothly move along its surface and inclose contact therewith, so that the sheet will be cut through itsentire thickness. A stop 22 is provided on the carriage for limiting themotion of the arm 18 when the knife is being returned to its operativeposition, and an emergency stop 23 is also provided on the carriage forlimiting the motion of the arm 18 should the cutter fail to functionproperly. The stop 23, however, is not in contact with the arm when thecutter is operating normally, and is simply provided as a safeguard forpreventing the point of the cutter from catching on the end of the rollwhen it is starting on its forward movement, and also for preventing thepossibility of the cutter catching or digging into the roll should thetrack, for any reason, move away from the roll.

The cutter carriage 17 is moved back and forth by means of cords orropes 24 and 25, which have their ends preferably passed through andsecured. to the outer end of the cutter arm 18. The rope 25 passes overan idler 26 arranged at the right hand end of the track 14 (as viewed inFig. 1) it is returned beneath the track where it is crossed, and thenpasses over an idler 27. The rope 24 passes over an idler, like theidler 27, which is mounted upon the same shaft, but which does not showin the drawings. The outer ends of the ropes 24 and 25 are connectedwith the operating means of my device, described below.

As clearly seen in Fig. 1, the track 14 is arranged at. an angle withthe axis of the pressure roll 10. This angular arrangement is providedso as to compensate for the continued rotation of the sheet of pulp asit is be ing slit by the cutter 20. The high end of the track is at theleft of Fig. 1, and as the cutter moves from right to left it will beseen that, if the sheet is to be cut squarely across, the cutter willhave to travel upwardly as it advances to the cut. This is provided bythe inclination of the track as shown in the drawings.

In order to imitate the'hand operation of litting the sheet of pulp, itis necessary that the slitting be done quickly; and, to accomplish this,I have provided a weight 28 which is vertically slidable upon ways ortracks 29. The outer end of the rope'24 passes upwardly to the upperlimit of travel of the weight 28, and is there passed over an idler 30.The end is brought downwardly and attached to the weight at 31. Theouter end of the rope 25 is also attached to the weight 28 at 32.Mounted above the ma chine at an elevation governed by the width of thesheet of pulp to be cut, and the consequent, necessary travel of theweight 28, is the means for operating the weight of my device. Thesemeans comprise a bracket 33, supported by the ceiling above the machineor in any other suitable way. Journaled within the bracket 33 is a mainshaft 34, which carries a gear 35. Below the shaft 34 is arranged adrive shaft 36, which carries at its outer end a pinion 37, meshing withthe gear 35. The carries a sprocket wheel 38, which is rotated by asprocket chain 39, passing over'a sprocket wheel 40. The sprocket wheel40 is carried by an extension shaft 41, preferably attached to the outerend of the shaft of the lower pressure roll 11. Mounted so as to freelyrotate upon the shaft 34 is a drum 42, and attached thereto at one ofits ends is a belt or strap 43. The other end of this belt passesdownwardly and is secured to the weight 28. As the drum is rotated in aclockwise direction, when viewed from the right hand side of Fig. 1, thestrap 43 will be wound upon its periphery and the weight 28 will beelevated. Passing through the drum 42 near its. periphery, is a stop 44,the ends of which engage with the bracket 33 and lim the rotation of thedrum, thereby preverting the lug 51 thereof from passing beyond the key47. Endwise motion of the drum 42 upon its shaft is prevented byproviding a set collar 45 at one side thereof, and by an operating arm46 at the opposite side thereof. This operating arm is rigidly attachedto the shaft and is rotatable therewith. At its outer end is slidablycarried a key 47 which is provided with a downwardly extending arm 48(Fig. 4). cam 49 is carried by the bracket 33 and its surface isengageable with the arm 48 of the key 47. The key 47 is normally pressedinwardly by means of a spring 50 carried by the arm 46. The inner end ofthe key, in its innermost position, projects beyond the surface of thearm 46 and lies in position where it will engage with a lug 51 providedon the drum 42. When the key 47 is in the position shown in the figuresof the drawings and the arm is totated, the drum 42 will also be rotatedby the engagement of the key 47 with the lug 51 of the drum. When thedrum 42 has reached its predetermined point, the arm 48 of the key willengage with the cam 49 and move the key outwardly to a point where itsengagement with the lug 51 will be released, whereupon the drum 42 willbe drive shaft 36 also 28 from falling if, for any reason,

mined thickness and for graspingthe end 62 and a movable bar to thecarrier 61, and which the stops will engage ment with the lug 51 of thedrum, so that thedrum will be almostimmediately again engaged androtated so as to raise theweight 28 for another movement of the cutter.1

Attached to the outer end" of the drive shaft 36 is a ratchet wheel 52,and engaging with this ratchet wheel is a'ratchet pawl 53. The ratchetpawl is carried by the bracket 33 and its engagement with the ratchetwheel 52 willprevent the weight the sprocket chain 39 should break, oranythin else should fail to'properly operate. It wil be seen that if theweight 28 should acci- -dentallyfall befor'eit has reached its predetermined upward motion, the sheet of pulp would not have reached itspredeterwould be out along a portion of its width. It will be obviousthat as the weight28 cutter carriage 17 is being returned to the righthandiside of the track as viewedi'n Fig.1, and the apparatus isso timedthat when'it has reached this position the pulp will be at itspredetermined thickness, at which time the weight'will be released anddraw the cutter across the roll through the sheet of ulp. r

In Or er to take the fiatsheets of pulp from the machine and place the'min a] stack, I provide a track at eachs'ide of the machine. These tracksare inclined upwardly from the machine and mounted to move thereon is apulp carrier 61. This pulp carrier is provided with gripping means ofthe sheet of pulp which comprlse a stationarilyarranged bar 63, whichextend the full width of the machine. The movable bar 63 is carried atthe upperends of arms 64. are arms which are rigidly secured arearranged in spaced relation therewith. The arms 64 are pivotallyattached near their middle portion to the lower ends of the arms 65, andare arranged'between these arms and the carriers 61. Stops 66 arearranged at the inner ends of the tracks 60, and stops 67 at the'outerends of the tracks. The stops 66 are so arranged that when thecarrier 61 is in'the position shown in Fig. 2 the arms '64 aboveconnection and serve to move the bar 63 out of contact with the bar 62,thereby opening the jaws of the gripping means and permitting the edgeof the sheet of pulp to pass therebetween, (see Fig. 2). At this instantthe carrier 61 is drawn upwardly by means hereinafter described,

their pivotal is being raised the sizes,

20 will have been 'side of the track "upon the drum thus allowing themovable bar 63 to fall into contact with the stationary bar 62, whichwill cause the sheet to be frictionally held between the bars 63 and 62by reason of the weight of the bar 63 and its attaching arms. As thecarriage reaches the upper point of its travel the arms 64 will engagewith the stops 67 below their pivotal points, which will serve to openthe grippin means and allow the sheet of pulp to fall in between thetracks and to be stacked in a pile as shown at 68 in Fig. 2,

The pulp carrier is operated by ropes 69 and 70, one arranged at eachside of the carrier. The ropes pass re'arwardly and over idlers 71. Therope 69 passes upwardly and connects directly with the drum 72, whilerope 70 is preferably passed over idlers 73 and also around the drum 72.The drum 72 is mounted upon'a shaft 74, which is mounted in suitablejournals. A drum 75 of smaller diameter than the drum 72 is also mountedupon the shaft 74 and is connected with a drum segment 76 by a belt orrope77'.

The drum segment 76 is loosely mounted upon the outer extended end ofthe shaft 34 and prevented frommoving endwise there on by means of asetcollar 78and an operating arm 79. The drum segment 7 6 is preferablymade adjustable so that it may be adapted to pressure rolls of differentor adjusted when the pressure roll is reduced in diameter by having itssurface redressed, it being obvious that the rate of travel ofthe pulpcarrier 61 must be the same as the rate of discharge of the sheet ofpulp. A stop 84 is preferably provided for the drum segment so as tolimit its travel, counter-clockwise,beyond the position shown in Fig. 2.1

The operating arm 79 carries a key 80, similar in design to key 47, ahdhaving an upwardly extending arm 81. A cam 82, like the cam 49, issupported by an extension 83 of the bracket 33. This cam serves tomove'the key out of engagement with the drum segment 76, when it hasmoved the pulp carrier 61 to the upper limit of its travel. The track 60being inclined, as

hereinbefore stated, the weight of the pulp -weight 28-will have beendrawn upwardly to its uppermost position by the drum 42, and the cuttercarriage 17 with the cutter moved to the right hand as vieWed in Fig. 1,where- 42 will be released, the weight will fall, and through the mediumof the cords 24 and 25, the carriage 17 will quickly '-draw the cutter20 across the face of the pressure roll 10 and slit the sheet of pulpthereon. The lower edge of the sheet of pulp will fall by gravity andmove downwardly, as it is being discharged from the machine, to aposition between the open jaws of the gripping device. When the edge ismoved between these jaws the apparatus is so timed as to cause the drumsegment 76 to operate and draw the carrier 61 upwardly on its tracks. Asthe carrier starts to travel the arms 64 will. be released fromengagement with the stops 66, thereby closing the gripping means on theedge of the sheet of pulp. As the carrier continues its travel along thetracks 60 the outer edge of the pulp sheet will be moved along betweenthe tracks 60, as the sheet is being discharged from the machine,thereby keeping the sheets substantially flat. When the upperpredetermined travel of the carrier is reached the jaws thereof will bereleased and the sheet allowed to fall in between the tracks on the pile68.

Obviously, some modifications of the de tails herein shown and describedmay be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the appended claims; I do not, therefore, wish to be limited tothe exact embodiment herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. Ina wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, means for forcing the cutter toward theroll during the cutting stroke, and means for retracting the cutter fromthe roll during the return stroke.

2. In a wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, a weight for uickly moving the cutteracross the roll to sit the sheet of pulp, and means for slowly elevatingthe weight to its initial position and slowly moving the cutter back toits initial position.

3. In a wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon,means for slitting the accumulated pulp while the roll is rotatingcomprising a track disposed in front ofthe roll and arranged. at anacute angle with the axis thereof, a cutter movable on thetrack andengageable with the surface of the roll, and means for operating thecutter back and forth across the surface of the roll, the initialposition of the cutter being at the lower end of the track, whereby thesheet of pulp is cut substantially at right-angles with its side faces.

4:. In a wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, a vertically reciprocating weightconnected with the cutter, and means for periodically tripping theweight.

5. In a wet. machine, a roll adapted to acdrum for elevating the weight,

fore it is tripped.

6. In a wet machine, aroll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, averticall reciprocating weightconnected with t e cutter, a means for rotating the drum, and means forperiodically releasing the drum, whereby the weight is allowed to fall.

7. In a wet machine, a roll adaptedto accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, a verticall reciprocating weightconnected with tl ie cutter, a drum for elevating the weight, means forrotating the drum, and cam actuated means for periodically releasing thedrum, Whereby the weight is allowed to fall.

. 8. In a wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, actuating means for the cutter, anoperating arm, connecting means between the arm and the actuating means,means for operatin the latter, and cam means for releasing theconnecting means at a predetermined point, thereby allowing theactuating means to operate.

9. In a wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, a vertically'reciprocating weightconnected-with the cutter, elevating means for the weight, an operatingarm, connecting means between the arm and the elevating means, means foroperating the latter, and cam means for releasing the connecting meansat a predetermined point, thereby allowing the weight to fall.

10. In a wet machine, a roll adapted to accumulate a deposit thereon, acutter movable across the roll, a vertically reciprocating weightconnected with the cutter, a rotatably mounted drum, means connectingthe drum and the weight, an operating arm adjacent to the drum, a keycarried by the arm and normally engageable with the drum to rotate thesame, and a cam engageable withthe key to release its engagement withthe drum, thereby allowing the weight to fall. 11. In a wet machine,means for receiving and piling the sheets of pulp, formed thereon,comprising a pulp carrier mounted in front of the machine, grippingmeans carried by the carrier, actuating means for the carrier, anoperating arm, means for normally connecting the actuating means and thearm, and means for periodically disengaging such actuating means andarm, thereby allowing the carrier to return to its inoperative position.

12. In a wet machine, means for receiving and piling the sheets of pulp,formed thereon, comprising a pulp carrier mounted in front of themachine, gripping means carried by the carrier, means for operating thecarrier, comprising a drum segment, an operating arm, means for normallyconnecting the segment and arm, and means for periodically disengagingsuch segment and arm, thereby allowing thecarrier to return to itsinoperative position.

13. In a wet machine, means for receiving and piling the sheets of pulp,formed thereon, comprising a pulp carrier mounted in front of themachine, gripping means carried by the carrier, actuating means for thecarrier, an operating arm, a key carried by the arm and. held normallyin engagement with the actuating means, and cam means for periodicallydisengaging the key from the actuating means, thereby allowing thecarrier to return to its inoperative position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my nam e. HENRY A. CONSTANTINE.

